It really is the coming of age of mainstream Indian cinema. Though Dil Kabbadi isn’t the best film to represent this wave of changing (growing up!) audience perceptions, it certainly doesn’t make too many excuses to put its spirited confidence on display. The fact of the matter is that it is a (very) light-hearted comedy which is a departure from the serious dramas that usually tend to go towards uncharted territory: in this case involving 1) Sex 2) Kissing 3) Unusual cast pairing. Apart from the fact that the movies is ripped off, at the end of the day it is primarily because of Irrfan Khan that all these three elements work.

For a first film, Anil Senior is remarkably assured with his directing. There is a middle-of-the-road subtlety in most aspects of the film: camera, sound, art direction and locations, and costumes. He seems to know exactly what he wants and has communicated this perfectly to his heads of departments. Either that or he’s given them the freedom to work to the best of their abilities. The ineptitude shows, unfortunately, in the one department that has the most impact in any film: the script. Senior’s “adaptation” of Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives is inconsistent at best. If it wasn’t for Irrfan Khan’s antics, the story of the rise and fall of two couples caught up in fantasies of sex and relationships would be downright insipid. Senior uses a classic Allen tool: getting the protagonists to talk to the camera. Only in this case, it looks like a crutch rather than serve its function to augment the narrative by providing a witty and satirical comment; it merely forwards the plot. Still, there is a boldness to it all. We see Irrfan indulging in inane role-playing sex and the lighter side of old guy-meets barely legal girl in Rahul Bose’s track, a good departure from Nishabd and the stream of similar movies like it. The first half remains muddled and the actors play each subsequent scene differently. It is in the second-half that the story begins to coherently move ahead, but this is achieved at the cost of oversimplifying characterization.

Irrfan Khan is the glue keeping the film together. Take away his out of place item number with Payal Rohatgi and you have a trademark hilarious performance. The scene with her in the parking lot, after he has dragged her out of a party where she is peddling her aerobic skills, has the audience in splits. Irrfan’s unique comic timing holds in good stead every time. Soha Ali Khan, who plays his wife does come up with a fine performance too. She doesn’t necessarily have the funniest lines and is made to be angry most of the time, but she does this without getting irritating. She is the only one who is fully clear about her character in the film. Rahul Bose is Rahul Bose, nothing new here. And Konkona Sen Sharma is now quite boring. Her performances are getting repetitive and she would be well-advised to take up a more challenging roles because she has the potential for it. Saba Azad debut is vivacious but weak. She has a long way to go with her acting skills, but she is still quite charming.

Dil Kabbadi isn’t half-bad, and if you’re an Irrfan Khan fan, then it’s a must.